Shopee doubles its fees after 3 years.

The platform constantly changes its discount policies for sellers. Overall, the minimum commission charged to shop owners has doubled in some product categories over the past three years.

E-commerce platforms are increasing fees, with some product categories facing rates 2-3 times higher than in 2023.

Vietnam's largest e-commerce platform frequently changes and updates its policies, as well as shifts in taxes and fees over the years. Each time, service fees are adjusted, sometimes increasing, sometimes decreasing. However, viewed from a broader perspective, the overall trend is that the commission sellers have to pay to the online marketplace is steadily increasing.

From 2023 to the present, the basic cost of selling goods on e-commerce platforms has increased two to three times in some high-volume product categories. Promotions and support programs have also been gradually reduced.

Shopee isn't the only platform experiencing this trend; similar trends are being applied to TikTok Shop and Lazada, as these online marketplaces don't have significant differences in taxes and fees.

Major corrections

Starting before 2023, Shopee had two main fees: Payment Fee (2.5%) and Fixed Fee (2.5%). From January 2nd, 2023, these increased to 3%. However, if shop owners purchased additional packages such as Free Shipping, Vouchers, or Cashback, the fixed fee would be waived. These extended fees were calculated at 5-6% of the order value, but with a maximum limit of 20,000 VND.

Essentially, sellers had to share about 5% of their revenue with Shopee when selling on the platform three years ago if they didn't purchase extended services. This amount increased to 8-9% if they spent money on free shipping or vouchers.

Shopee reduced its fees by 1% for some product categories, while increasing them to 4-5% for others. Photo: Shopee.

In 2024, the platform simultaneously increased both the Payment Fee and the Fixed Fee to 4%. The most notable change was in the supplementary service fee schedule. Shopee's complete removal of the 8% maximum charge limit for the Freeship Xtra package put pressure on high-value product categories. At this time, shops were still exempt from the Fixed Fee when participating in the service package, helping to keep the total platform fees at a manageable level.

However, the adjustment on July 3, 2024, ended the aforementioned policy. Shopee mandated a 4% fee for regular sellers, regardless of whether they participated in any add-on packages. The Payment Fee continued to increase to 5%. The Freeship package fee decreased to 6% and the Voucher Xtra fee to 3%, with a maximum limit of 50,000 VND reinstated. However, the fact that sellers had to pay both the Fixed Fee and the Service Fee simultaneously caused the total revenue to skyrocket.

In 2025, Shopee eliminated the fixed commission rate. The platform divided product categories and adjusted commission rates accordingly. In the July adjustment of the same year, some sellers benefited from the reduced commission rates. However, the majority of individual shop owners selling low-value, high-volume items faced significantly increased commission rates. For example, beauty products received the highest commission rate of 11.78%, compared to only 4% previously. Additionally, the platform also charged an extra 3,000 VND under the guise of an infrastructure fee.

Recently, Shopee unexpectedly increased various seller fees across the board. Specifically, from May, the transaction processing fee (name change payment fee) increased to 6% for prepaid methods (credit cards, e-wallets, bank transfers). From May 23rd, fixed commission fees for many product categories increased sharply. In particular, the health and beauty category increased to 16-17%, and electronics accessories to 15%. The service fee for the Voucher Xtra package also increased significantly from 4% to 5.5%.

The floor price doubles or triples after 3 years.

Thus, for some product categories, the amount sellers have to share has increased sharply. From 6-9% in 2023, the discount is now at 22-23%. This figure does not include infrastructure fees, voucher packages, or free shipping, which are also 10-20% more expensive than before. These are also expenses that shop owners often have to incur to attract customers and increase competitiveness.

Policies that benefit buyers, such as no-questions-asked returns, also force shop owners to change their operating plans. They have to pay extra to the platform to purchase the Pi Ship package, saving on shipping costs when orders are returned.

The taxes and fees that sellers have to calculate change from year to year when selling fashion items on Shopee.

In a recent adjustment, the platform also changed its advertising cost calculation method. Instead of basing it on clicks, the platform now charges based on impressions, which has drawn complaints from many sellers due to inflated costs and difficulty in calculating effectiveness.

Each platform adjusts its fees differently in each adjustment. However, the overall trend is to raise fees and collect more from partners. Lazada and TikTok Shop also employ a similar approach to Shopee.

Speaking with Tri Thức - Znews , Mr. Do Quang Huy, a Master's degree holder in e-commerce, stated that the increase in fees by e-commerce platforms is a general trend and will not stop anytime soon. He explained that the reason is the large investments made to expand the market and attract sellers and customers over the past several years.

“In this battle, platforms will have to continue competing fiercely. Discount programs will have to be offered. Therefore, increasing fees is a simple way to balance revenue and expenses,” Mr. Huy added. After the platform raised the revenue sharing rate, sellers were forced to raise product prices.

Source: https://znews.vn/shopee-tang-phi-gap-doi-sau-3-nam-post1653055.html